Conversion Therapy & Ex Gay Ministry: A Republican Revival?

BY LA Jamison

LGBT issues have always been a part of political battles in some form. However, conversion therapy (and "pray the gay away" type therapies called "ex-gay" ministry) really hasn't been in the news much in the last few decades except for four real noteworthy events;

1973 - The American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association after much research and clinical trials declared that homosexuality was not fit to be called a disorder which it was called in the 1950's and virtually all mental health professionals saw conversion type therapies as dangerous.

2013 - As a direct result of a Lisa Ling 2-part report on Our America called "Pray the Gay Away," the largest ex-gay ministry in the world, Exodus International, closed it doors and some of it's leading members "came out."

2015 - The Obama Administration pushed for the banning of conversion therapy used on minors.

Powering against this were two high profile political voices. First, Sarah and Todd Palin and their involvement in a penetcostal church that practiced conversion therapy in their counseling. Now, as of th present, we have a supreme court judge Neil Gorsuch and Vice President Mike Pence who are not supportive of any of the gains LGBT people have made for their rights. This has allowed a rebranded Exodus International, called the Restored Hope Network, to gain momentum and other ex-gay ministries are popping up.

Many people don't know the difference between conversion therapy or ex-gay ministry or their techniques. Having experienced both, let me take you behind the curtain (spoilter alert: you aren't going to find Oz there).

"Conversion therapy" takes a non-faith based approach. It began in and around the 1920's with speculations from Sigmund Freud and surgeries from Eugene Steinach. Steinach performed operations where he implanted gay men with straight men's testicles stating that this would help the "organic" componant of homo-eroticism. Throughout history, scientists have tried different things to change a gay man to straight from electric shock and other methods of pain and torture. Some people even received lobotomies. These are extreme methods that aren't as popular today.

More popular has been reparative therapy which is based off the teachings of Elizabeth Moberly and the late Joseph Nicolossi. This is the idea that the person who classifies themselves as homosexual is really trying to "repair" feelings of inferiority largely due to a seperation from the father, over identification with mother or female models, and disjointed connection with male peers.

Ex-Gay Ministry takes some elements today from the reparative therapy model but comes at it soley from a traditional faith model. It sees homosexuality as a spiritual problem. A sin that is equivalent in function as alcoholism or gossip but lands you in the deepest recesses of hell both here and in eternity.

LA Jamison is a Cum Lade graduate from Eastern Michigan University with a B.S. in Literature, Language and Writing for Teaching and Communications. His book, "Discoveries in the Closet: A Young Man's Struggle with Faith and Sexuality," is available on Amazon